Storing Crosby and Baker Distillers yeast

[runswithscissors]

I bought this C and B distillers yeast 1 month ago, the first ferment went great, super fast and good alcohol content. I stored the remainder in the refrigerator bottom drawer and now it won't activate, what could have caused the death of my yeast?

[runswithscissors]

Well, I feel really stupid, but I know what went wrong. I took the yeast out of the refrigerator and dumped it in the water (97 degrees), evidently the yeast cannot survive the shock. I took the remainder out and let it reach room temp, then tried it again and all is well. Live and learn.

[rtalbigr]

Yeast can be pretty fragile creatures. They don't handle shocks well as you discovered. C&B distiller's yeast is my work horse, I use it for a lot of my ferments. 97F is a little high for that yeast. I re-hydrate at 85F for about 15-20 minutes and I use GO-FERM PROTECT when I do. It help the yeast re-hydrate with minimal damage and also provides most of the micro nutrient the yeast needs. A nitrogen source, some O2, and some zinc is about the only things else you'll need.

Big R

[runswithscissors]

It makes a strong wine, which is what I want. I now have a stalled ferment due to it sitting for about 10 days with no yeast colony growing. I was busy and did not have time to check. I am trying to restart, but by tomorrow I may have to dump the entire product.

[mash rookie]

Pretty hard to screw up with C& B distillers yeast. A little goes a long way. Wake it up gently like a sweet woman and she will treat you right. Pitch half of the woke up yeast and pitch the other half after you have let it grow over night with some of your wash.
Great stuff. The best I have used.
MR

[mfradman]

I have been using C&B for about two years, When I order a new bag put it into a sealed jar and keep it on a shelf here in my shop, it never gets any colder than 45 degrees and no hotter than 95 degrees. I see all kinds of talk here about bread yeasts and such. I guess we use what we feel works for us. This yeast goes for about $9.95 a pound, I use two table spoons in most of my runs and I always get great results.
Hope this helps, mfradman